ERIC EJ945721: The Big Class

2011·0.48 MB·English

by  ERIC

Big
The
Class
More kids in your Rachel Santos is constantly This means working hard on social
class this year? reflecting on what does and skills and procedures, constantly pre-
doesn’t work as her class size viewing content to keep kids engaged,
ON Real-life strategies inches up at Leal Elementary making sure her voice and authority
CASS for survival, and School in Cerritos, California. Last year reach to the back of the classroom—
OPHIE success, with a she had 28 fourth-grade students; this and spreading out the work.
S fall she expects 32. “It’s important for everyone to have
USTRATION: By Carlaalregee A cdlaamsss. say“Ts hSea nbteogsi.n “nYionug hisa avlew taoy ssi mcrpalziyfy,” and ah ejoadb—ingfr oump t phaes lsiinneg,” o suaty ps aSpaenrtso tso. “If
ILL streamline as much as you can.” everyone is involved, its easier to man-
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feature THE BIG CLASS
“In the 2010–11
school year,
57 percent of
age your classroom.” students. It’s hard to develop a close
Bigger classes are the reality for districts increased relationship when there are that many
more and more teachers across the more people in the classroom.”
country. In the 2010–11 school year, their class sizes.”
Make Space
57 percent of districts increased
their class sizes, and 65 percent Room arrangement and flow are vital
anticipate doing so in 2011–12, accord- with a large class. Desks in rows may
ing to a December 2010 survey by kids, says Melanie Hobbs, assistant not be the way to go, says Janet Kujat,
the American Association of School director of the American Federation a kindergarten teacher in Minneapolis
Administrators. Another poll, in May, of Teachers’ Educational Issues for 35 years, where class size gradu-
by AASA found that 227,000 educa- Department in Washington, D.C. “You ally has grown. This year she expects
tion jobs are on the chopping block set the tone,” she says. “If you are fran- a roster of 30 students. Before school
this school year, further pushing up tic and frazzled, they will be frantic begins, Kujat assesses her classroom
student-to-teacher ratios. and frazzled.” to make sure there are clear pathways,
“This highlights how the recession Anne Prows, a fifth-grade teacher enough space for pulling out chairs,
continues at the local level,” says with 33 students in her Moreno Valley, and options for areas that might get
Noelle Ellerson, assistant director of California, classroom, says teachers in clogged up. “Try being creative and
policy, analysis, and advocacy at AASA. her district accepted a pay cut instead thinking of new ways to arrange the
“Superintendents are having to make of having class size increase to 40 per room—maybe an L shape to open up
cuts at the direct expense of student room. Still, classes are big, and it’s more spaces,” she recommends.
services—and against the research on hard not to worry about the impact You need to be highly visible to
class size.” it’s having on students. “You try to put your students. If desks are in groups
So, how do you cope? Experts and on a brave face and not let it affect of four, make sure you are positioned
veteran teachers like Rachel Santos you,” she says. “You have to shelve the so students don’t have to crane their
suggest investing time up front in stress and give 150 percent.” necks to pay attention, says Paul
planning—from lessons to daily rou- Teaching science at Ponderosa High Bovenzi, director of the Professional
tines. Practice classroom procedures School in Parker, Colorado, for the Development Academy at West
and get to know your students to make past 27 years, Kathy Dorman has just Warwick Public Schools in Rhode
things run smoothly. Think carefully made the best of classes growing from Island. Also, your desk should be in a
about the amount of homework you 22 to 35 students. She’s switched her central location so students can easily
assign. And reach out for help—from instructional strategy from relying approach you.
enlisting students to do in-class grad- heavily on lecture to having kids work In his workshops, Bovenzi suggests
ing to recruiting parent volunteers to in groups. Although it means more simple strategies with room arrange-
collaborating with other teachers. noise overall, it’s worked, and students ment, such as not putting the trash
are performing just as well on their can or pencil sharpener by the door,
Set the Tone
AP science tests now as when classes where kids are tempted to get up often
Facing a large classroom can be daunt- were smaller. The downside: “It affects to throw things away and see if their
ing, but if you stay positive so will the the relationship you have with the friends are walking by in the halls.
GLOBAL NUMBERS
What do class sizes look like around the world? The Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (2009) found U.S. class sizes to be higher than in most other industrialized countries.
19.8 21.4 23.1 31.1
Finland’s average class size is The average primary class size The U.S. number, while rela- Korea’s education system has
low, with world-class results. across the world. tively low, is on the increase. some of the largest class sizes.
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the big class
feature
Establish Ground Rules
National Education Association, and
Before the real teaching can begin, cofounder of HEROS Inc., an organiza-
establish rules and expectations for tion that conducts research on class
the classroom—and the rationale size. If this is not feasible because of
behind them, says Hobbs of the AFT. the size of the class, teachers should at
“On day one, involve the children in least send home their personal phone
developing them,” she suggests. “That number with students and encourage
adds ownership.” Then devote the first parents to communicate with them.
three weeks of school to getting the In the classroom, Bain suggests doing
procedures down. activities where the students share
HOW TO SURVIVE
“When you have more students, it’s information about their siblings, pets,
THE BIG CLASS
incumbent on teachers, especially, to and other interests.
have a plan,” says Harry Wong, who Wong suggests greeting each student
We asked teachers for their
runs Teachers.net and is coauthor of at the door by name. Each week, invite
best management tips.
The First Days of School: How to Be an a different student to stand with you
Effective Teacher. He emphasizes hav- and help greet fellow students. This ◗ Divide and Conquer
ing a classroom-management plan can teach important social skills and “Small-group instruction is the way
with clear procedures for breaking reduce both discipline problems and to go. Divide your class into learn-
into groups, collecting papers, and bullying. ing cells with structured rotations
transitioning between activities. Those and daily procedures. It will make
Be Prepared
procedures then must be taught, mod- for a rigorous learning environ-
eled, and rehearsed to avoid discipline In working with student teachers at ment.” —Paige Douglass Ward
problems, says Wong. Baylor University School of Education ◗ Embrace the Chaos
As students enter the classroom, in Waco, Texas, Mona Choucair says “You have to have a little tolerance
Wong suggests having an agenda she makes them time out their lessons in knowing that your classroom will
posted with a lesson objective and an to show what will be happening every never be quite as quiet, clean, or
assignment for students to do imme- minute. This is especially important focused as it was with smaller class
diately. Procedures in a classroom can in large classes, yet Choucair acknowl- sizes.” —Kelly Hom Tyndal
minimize the walking and talking edges that teachers need to be flexible
◗ Check Your Attitude
that cause disruptions in a large class. as well. “Have an alternative lesson
“Keep your attitude in check,
“Kids want consistency,” says Wong. plan in a binder for that day when you
because kids can read you! I just
“They want to know what to expect don’t feel well or things don’t go right,”
made it through a class of 35.
and what they are going to learn.” she says.
Crazy, but I did it, and scores went
Kujat spends the first few weeks If teachers don’t think outside the
up!” —Niki Bolze Tilicki
of school having students perfect rou- box to get kids excited to learn, they
tines, such as lining up and quieting will lose them, says Choucair, a senior ◗ Team Teach
down. She sets up a pass system for lecturer in curriculum and instruc- “Team teach with a colleague if
the bathroom, taking girls and then tion. “Take some risks to find things you can. I’m lucky enough to be
boys in separately to show them how to capture students’ attention.” In a able to do this for parts of the
to properly shut the door, flush, and middle school English class, make use day. I concentrate on checking in
wash their hands. of prominent young adult literature, with students during these times.
“You need to make visible your such as the Twilight series. Know some Thank goodness for my ‘partners in
invisible expectations,” she says. basic pop culture facts. “Let them crime!’” —Renee Bowman
“They can’t read your mind. You can’t know you understand Lady Gaga…not
◗ Look for Parent Volunteers
expect kids to just get it—you have to be cool, but to say you are trying to
“We use parent volunteers in my
to explain.” understand them,” she says.
class of 36 second graders. I also
With the size of classes ballooning,
Forge a Community use small groups and centers.”
Prows, of Moreno Valley, California,
—Kim MacNaughton Lawrence
With more students in a class, it’s says she spends an increasing number
important to create a cooperative of hours planning and doing assess-
culture. That means getting to know ments on the weekends. On top of
your students and having them get class size, there are diverse learners,
to know one another. the demands of new standards, and OCK
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child’s education, says Helen Bain, taking a toll physically on many of O:
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a teacher, former president of the my colleagues.” H
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the big class
feature
Break Into Groups
worries about the ordinary kids—not their attention in a large group,” she
To manage a large class, assess abili- those who are gifted or the trouble- says. “It’s in the mini-lessons where a
Get Along With
ties and learning styles early in the makers. When kids are in collaborative lot of the learning takes place.”
year or use information from the working groups, she suggests making In her high school science class in
previous year to form focused groups, sure there is a plan, with a leader and Parker, Colorado, Dorman says her
says Bain. For instance, separate stu- frequent monitoring, to make sure “lifesaving strategy” during labs is to
dents by reading ability, or pair strong everyone is involved and learning. demonstrate the dissection or experi-
readers with struggling ones. “You are Kujat says after testing her students ment at her desk to one person from
bouncing between groups and using in the fall, she does most of her teach- each of several groups. Then, those
students as helpers,” she says. ing in small groups while the children students go back and instruct their
In a big class, Choucair says, she rotate to centers. “It’s hard to keep peers. “I can’t possibly go from group
to group—and it increases the owner-
ship in the learning,” she says. “The
kids are very capable, and they are able
to take on that challenge.”
Rethink Homework
More students often means more grad-
ing—but there are only so many hours
in the day. “New teachers, especially,
think they have to grade everything,”
says Hobbs of the AFT. Really think
about what you want students to get
out of homework and if it’s neces-
sary to complete 20 math problems
or whether five will do. You can also
rotate how much feedback you give to
each student through the week and
sometimes just give a checkmark for
completing homework.
To get a quick snapshot of how
students are doing, Choucair suggests
giving out index cards for kids to write
what they learned that day and then Every Parent
collecting them on their way out of
class. These “exit cards” can give you a
sense of what’s working and guide the
next day’s lesson.
Using student peers as assessors is
also a good strategy to save time. But
Bovenzi of West Warwick schools in
Rhode Island adds that teachers should
make sure all students understand the
criteria as they review papers—focus- How to keep Let me be real with you for a moment. to magically produce a knife, candles, or
ing, for instance, in one reading on it positive, Working collaboratively with every matches and c) clearly plastering a pained
transitions and in another on punctua- parent in my class has not always smile on my face, there is a parent who
and keep the
tion. Rubrics can serve as guides. been all sunshine and kittens. Has creating sends thoughtful notes, is an active par-
Easing up on homework can be dif- volunteering a successful relationship always been a ticipant in her child’s education, and is a
ficult, adds Bovenzi. “It’s a big mind coming! goal of mine? Yes. Have I ever wanted to pleasure to work with.
shift. We give homework because we snatch their cell phones away from their Bottom line: The more often and positive-
By Jennifer
felt we had to for the longest time.” RS ears and smash them against a wall when ly you communicate, the less likely you are
When you free yourself up to give NDE Scoggin we are in the middle of a conference? to have grief down the line. Here are some
U
less and make what you assign more NA SA Sadly, also yes. of my ideas for working with all parents
meaningful, Bovenzi says, kids can ZI But for every parent who has shown up without adding hours to your day—from
N:
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that matter most! ILL a) in the middle of teaching, b) unable mission slips on time.
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